Skip to main content

Tasks for All Types of Report Objects

A report object is a type of content in a report in CDM. Some tasks that you perform on report objects are similar for all types of report objects; other tasks are specific to the type of report object.

For example, you can add comments to all types of report objects, regardless of the report type. On the other hand, you can perform certain types of calculations on data in Excel objects only.

Copy and Past Report Objects

You can copy and paste report objects and their properties in various ways.

You can right-click the report object in the report tree and click Copy, and then click one of the following items to perform various copy actions:

  • Report Object
    Copies the report object. You can paste the report object before or after another report object by right-clicking the report object, clicking Paste, and then clicking Before or After.

    Important: You cannot paste report objects from one report to another report. You can only paste a report object to an other place in the same report.

  • Properties
    Copies the report object properties. You can paste the report object properties into another report object by right-clicking the report object, and then clicking Paste, followed by clicking Properties. When pasting into a different report object type, only the common properties are pasted.
  • Object as a Link
    Copies the report object as a link. This action allows you to send the location of the report object as a URL. When a user clicks the URL, the report object opens directly in CDM if the user has the appropriate View Report permission.

Open a Report Object as Checked In

You can open a report object as checked in. A report object that is checked in can only be viewed and cannot be edited until it has been checked out.

Note: Double-clicking on an Excel report object opens it in Open mode (checked in and variables resolved). By default, double-clicking on a Word or PowerPoint report object opens them in Preview mode (checked in and variables resolved). You can change this default by changing the value in the Report Object Double Click Action field in the Files > Options > General section so that a Word or PowerPoint object opens in Open, Edit, or Preview mode.

To open a report object as checked in:

  1. Open the report that you want to work with.
  2. In the User Object Summary tab, select the report object you want to open checked in and double-click or click Open. The report object is opened and checked in.

Open a Report Object as Checked Out

You can open a report object as checked out. A report object that is checked out can be edited.

Note: Double-clicking on an Excel report object opens it in Open mode (checked in and variables resolved). Double-clicking on a Word or PowerPoint report object opens them in Preview mode (checked in and variables resolved).

To open a report object as checked out:

  1. Open the report that you want to work with.
  2. In the User Object Summary tab, select the report object you want to open checked out and click Edit. The report object is opened and checked out.

For Excel report objects that are opened as checked out, variables in the object are shown as resolved (that is, how they will look when the report is generated). For Word or PowerPoint objects, variables are not resolved until you check the object in.

Find a Report Object

If your report contains many report objects, you can easily search for the report object that you need.

All report objects in the report that you are viewing are listed in the report tree. To find a particular report object, you can scroll down the list and then click the report object that you want to work with. However, if your report contains many report objects, you might prefer to use the search functionality in CDM.

To find a report object using the search functionality:

  1. Open the report you want to work with.
  2. Click the Search icon in the Report tab heading in the Navigation Pane.
  3. In the search field, type the full name or part of the name of the report object that you want to find. You cannot type special characters in the search field. A search result list of all matching report objects opens under the field.
  4. To focus on the appropriate report object in the report tree, click the name in the search result list.
  5. The selected report object in the report tree is highlighted. If the report object is checked out to you or to another user, this information is visible when you hover over the name of the report object. If the report object is checked out to you, the name of the report object is green and bold.

Rename Report Objects

You can right-click a report object in the report tree, click Rename, and then specify a new name for the currently selected report object.

Include or Exclude Report Objects in a Generated Report

Print options can be used to control print and print-type properties for report objects and sections.

Printable Property

You include or exclude report objects from a generated report by using the Printable property.

You can set the Printable property for an individual report object to include or exclude it from a generated report. You can also set the Printable property for a section to include or exclude all its report objects and subsections from the generation.

When a section is set to Not Printable, the descendant report objects and sections appear as Not Printable. The section descendants' Printable property is grayed out and you cannot change their Printable property.

The explicit Printable property of report objects and sections is maintained in CDM, therefore, you can change the Printable property of a parent section without modifying the Not Printable property of a report object that is not to be printed.

Variables defined in Microsoft Excel objects that are Not Printable are still resolved when referenced in other CDM report objects.

Print Type Property

You can use the Print Type property to determine if Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel objects or sections are to be generated in the main report, in an exhibit, or are supporting documents.

When adding or importing a child report object or section to an exhibit section, the Print Type property is automatically set to Exhibit. The report object or section is included in the generation of the exhibit section. This property can not be changed. Such report objects can be additionally marked as Exhibit Supporting Document using the report object properties.

In all other scenarios, the default Print Type for newly created or imported report objects and sections is to be included in the main report. Such report objects can be additionally marked as Supporting Document using the report object properties. You can then use the Include Supporting Documents and Include supporting documents in the main report generation options to control how supporting documents are generated and accessed.

Set the Printable Property for a Report Object or Section

  1. Open the report that you want to work with.
  2. To exclude a single report object from generation, right-click it and select Properties > Printable > Not Printable.
  3. To exclude all of descendant report objects in a section, right-click the section and select Properties > Printable > Not Printable.
  4. To make a report object or section eligible for generation again, right-click and select Properties > Printable > Printable.

Tip: When sections or report objects in a report are set as Not Printable, their names in the report tree become lighter and more transparent. You can also set a report object or section as Not Printable in their Properties and Comments window (right-click and select Properties > Manage All Object Properties and clear the Printable checkbox).

Push Report Objects Down to Cascaded Reports

You can push down one or more report objects from a master report to cascaded reports.

  • In the destination report, you need permission to view the report and to add report objects.
  • In the source report, you need permission to push down report object updates and to create report objects.

As you add new report objects to a master report, you can add copies of these report objects to any cascaded reports by pushing the report objects down.

In a cascaded report, pushed-down report objects appear in the report tree under the Pushed Down Objects heading. Report objects under this heading are not included when you generate the report. If you want to include any pushed-down report objects in a generated report, drag the report objects to a different part of the hierarchy.

To push report objects down to cascaded reports:

  1. Open the report that you want to work with.
  2. In the report tree, right-click the report object that you want to push down to the cascaded reports and select Pushdown.

    Tip: If you want to push down more than one report object at once, press CTRL and select multiple report objects. Then right-click in the report tree and select Pushdown.

  3. Select the checkboxes for the cascaded reports that you want to push the report object down to, and click OK.
  4. A copy of the report object is pushed down to the cascaded reports. If you push down a report object that already exists in the cascaded report, a number is added to the name of the report object.

Note: By default, pushed-down report objects are not printable.

Was this article helpful?

We're sorry to hear that.